Cincinnati Pops Opening Weekend:Star Wars and Beyond

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and Conductor John Morris Russell have announced the details of the Pops’ 2017-18 season, the first back in the Orchestra’s home at Music Hallfollowing an extensive renovation and transition season at the Taft Theatre.

Cincinnati Pops Opening Weekend:The Music of John Williams: Star Wars and Beyond8 p.m. Friday, October 138 p.m. Saturday, October 142 p.m. Sunday, October 15John Morris Russell conducts the Cincinnati Pops Opening Weekend at the newly renovated Music Hall. The concert program celebrates the legendary film music of composer John Williams. His scores from such films as Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones have engrained themselves into the American musical experience. These works demonstrate the full strength and warmth of the Pops while painting the action and emotion of the films for which they were written.

This program will feature a world premiere of unpublished work by John Williams, a rarity for any orchestra. The premiere is of the famous theme from Schindler’s List, adapted for orchestra and solo cello. This beloved theme was originally written for violin and orchestra. While Mr. Williams wrote the cello adaptation several years ago, it was set aside and never performed. These concerts will be the world premiere of this work, and will feature the Pops’ principal cellist, Ilya Finkelsteyn. The Pops is honored to have the opportunity to perform this piece before any other ensemble.

Single tickets for the subscription series go on sale to the general public August 8, 2017. Subscription packages start at $112.50 while single tickets will start at $25 for most concerts, which does not include a 3.5% facility fee, which will ensure a dedicated fund for the ongoing maintenance of Music Hall for future generations.

Courtney Phenicie is the Editor in Chief of CincyMusic and an alum of Northern Kentucky University. She enjoys singing in the car, pizza rolls, boxed red wine, and The Golden Girls. If you can’t find her roaming around the city with her daughter Josephine, check The Southgate House Revival or Casablanca Vintage in Northside.